The first time I asked my students to write a short essay about heroes and important people in their life they recognised it was such a hard task.

I thought it was because of the use of certain adjectives or “specialised” vocabulary, but I was wrong.

The problem they had was even more unusual: they found it difficult to find a hero or they have never thought about this topic before.

The result was amazing essays about love and respect, about people’s value and their influence on the rest of the people they know.

From the man on the street begging for some help to the best friend from childhood, all those heroes: mothers, fathers, grandparents or unknown people – all taught them something very important: sharing moments and values and supporting each other in hard moments.

This activity taught me a good lesson: allow my students talk about their likes and dislikes, about what they feel and who they want to be in their life.

Use the same activity and suggest important people or simply ask them to give you a name of somebody that is a “hero”.